basketball player

Chapter 164 Chapter 162: First Shot

The beautiful cheerleaders left the field, but the fans did not feel sorry, because the truly wonderful moment of this basketball court has just arrived.

The starting players of both sides walked into the court, and the coaches of both teams also stood solemnly on the sidelines.

Neither Hollins nor Henson wanted to lose this game.The Grizzlies have just come out of the haze of a three-game losing streak and need continuous victories to stabilize their rankings.The Pacers have just lost to the Jazz, and avoiding a losing streak is their first goal.

The Pacers' starting lineup was exactly the same as before, while for the Grizzlies, Hollins raised Quincy Pondexett, a second-year guard who graduated from the University of Washington, to the starting position, replacing Tony Allen, who is known for his defense.

The intention of this change is very obvious, use Pondexett's shooting ability to curb the Pacers' double-teaming of the inside!

"Coach Horingus rarely changes the team's starting lineup. This is very different from Hengsen. But today, it is the first to make adjustments. In this way, the three external players of the Grizzlies have the ability to have a three -pointer. If the Pacers want to hold the Grizzlies, they may need to be more cautious. If you put a Tony Allen on the court, Hungson will definitely ask the person who defended Tony Allen to clip the opponent's inside.After all, Tony Allen is an outsider who can't shoot long.

But now that Hollins has put Pondexett who can shoot three-pointers, it depends on whether Henson dares to let the players resolutely double-team!

Henson smiled, thank you for your trouble, Hollins!

The referee blew his whistle, and the game, which has attracted great attention among the fans of both sides, officially started.Gasol Jr. relied on his terrifying height of 2 meters to easily win the first attack. Conley, who has played in the league for 16 years, slowly advanced with the ball. The Grizzlies' offense will definitely fall into position.

On the first offense in the opening game, Conley handed the ball to Randolph who mentioned the mid-range position.At the same time, Gasol Jr. sat inside and raised his hand for the ball!
Randolph didn't hesitate, and directly lobbed the ball to his inside partner.A high-low coordination between insiders and insiders, I have to admit that Hollins used the "black and white bears" vividly.

Gasol has an advantage in height and weight, and he is not the kind of rough guy who can only rampage, but a traditional insider with outstanding skills.

So if there is no double-teaming, it will be difficult for Horford to contain Gasol Jr. alone.The moment Danny Green received the ball from Gasol Jr., he raised his arms and clamped it up according to the tactics. The Pacers' tactics are still the same!

Gasol is tall and long, so even if he is double-teamed, he still has passing vision.So the Spanish tower threw the ball to Pondexett outside the three-point line under the interference of Horford and Green.Facing the wide open, Pondexter catches and shoots without hesitation.He was able to start today because he came up to do this!

"Swipe!" The Nets made a crisp sound, accompanied by cheers from the Grizzlies fans.

"He made a three-pointer, and Coach Hollins' change of formation immediately worked! The Memphis Grizzlies took the lead in scoring points from long shots, which is really unusual." Kevin Harlan applauded Hollins' subtle change of formation, but Barkley did not complain about Henson as usual.

On the contrary, Barkley is eager to see how Henson solves these problems today.

On the offensive end, Henson also, as he said in an interview before the game, used outside offense and shooting to bite the score.

So today, the Grizzlies' defense is very targeted.They implemented a strategy of unlimited defense changes, no matter how the pick-and-roll is, they will always switch defenses, preventing the Pacers from getting any shooting space.

In the end, George misplaced and faced Gasol Jr.But his pull-up jump shot obviously didn't fool the Spaniard. Gasol stretched out his arm and sealed it to George's fingertips. The first shot of No. 24, which has emerged this season, hit the iron, and the Grizzlies successfully prevented the next misplacement!
"Tsk, this is not like Coach Henson's style." Barkley was a little disappointed. He thought the Pacers' offense would be more unexpected.

In the next attack, Danny Green did not double-team, but defended in front of Pondexett who had just scored.Seeing this situation, Gasol turned around and made a small jump hook, and easily scored the ball.Horford has limited height and limited interference with Gasol.It seems that the Grizzlies played effortlessly on the offensive end.

"That guy will be blown up today! No matter how powerful Henson Joe is, he can't lift his player's body up!" In the reporter area, several reporters chatted happily.They couldn't wait to see the expression of the arrogant Henson after losing the game.

5 to 0, the Pacers need to bite the score.Before attacking this time, Paul looked at Henson on the sidelines.Henson didn't speak, just nodded slightly.Then, Paul made a few gestures to direct his teammates to move.

Everyone in the Pacers knows that it's time to close the net!

David West offered to cover for Paul. This guy's screen was very rough, but he was always able to control the speed of fouling and non-fouling.

After the screen, West did not leave, but continued to make an off-ball screen for Paul George who came out of the bag.Paul made a breakthrough and George went out of the three-point line. What a typical "Pacers-style" offense.Paul only needs one point, and George can shoot a three-pointer!

However, the Grizzlies had already prepared for this, so after receiving the basketball, George did not get space. Rudy Gay quickly bypassed the pick-and-roll and followed George like a ghost.

At this moment, just when everyone thought that the Pacers' tactics hadn't played out, West, who had been standing still, moved.He strode from the three-point line to the right wing of the court.

His movement seemed more to open space for George, but when Randolph was about to turn around and follow up, he realized that he couldn't walk.

Looking down, Chris Paul blocked the ferocious "black bear" of Randolph with four or two moves.

Of course, Randolph can't beat Paul, but if he breaks the screen so abruptly, the only thing he can get is a foul.

"Oops!" Randolph yelled badly when he saw West strolling to the mid-range position like a leisurely stroll, and he couldn't keep up in time because of Paul's cover.

Because he knew very well how terrifying that "weapon" of David West was.

When he was just born, West's brother was already a well-known basketball star in their neighborhood.The elder brother taught West a set of style of play, telling him: "Every time you call one, it is a low turn. Call two, it is a low turn and then hook. Call three, it is a turn and then a fake shot."

West keeps all these moves in his mind, but he still has a style of play that has not been marked by his brother, and that is the mid-range shot that he began to practice when he was a child.

The skill, practiced by West on the rough court in his yard, has been viewed as a sharp weapon over time.This is why he was able to kill someone 17 feet away from the basket!
George passed the ball, Randolph desperately bypassed Paul and chased West.But it was too late, the "17-foot Assassin" gracefully threw out his hidden weapon, and by the time everyone realized it, the target had already been killed on the spot!

"Beautiful, West's mid-range shot is still as steady as ever. The Pacers are biting the score, but obviously, their offense is in big trouble!" Kevin Harlan was not inspired by West's mid-range shot. After all, West always had a few flashes of inspiration in every game of the Pacers.

In the eyes of most people, the ball just now was clearly a tactic for George, but under the tight defense of the Grizzlies, the tactic failed.Therefore, West took the risk and shot a ball.

No one saw the movement of West's loitering, and Paul's cover was no coincidence!
After West scored, Henson glanced at Hollins, but the black coach didn't respond.

"Well, that's good." Henson was very happy for others to regard that attack as a failed tactical operation.

Subsequently, the Grizzlies were still the same, Gasol sat inside, and Randolph mentioned the high position.The Grizzlies didn't even bother to play pick-and-rolls, they just wanted to eat more inside while Gasol was still full of energy.

But this time, when Gasol received the basketball again, it was no longer Danny Green who double-teamed him, but the tough West!

"Big Black Bear" Randolph was already hungry and thirsty, and he mentioned the high position just to wait for this opportunity.Two insiders to double-team Gasol?Uncle Zach will make you regret it in the middle distance!
However, in the face of the double-teaming of the two insiders, it is not so easy for Gasol to figure out the ball.He couldn't pass the ball immediately, but entangled with the two for a few seconds, first stabilized his control of the ball, and then passed the ball to Randolph.

But these few seconds are enough for the Pacers to adjust their defense according to tactics.Just when Randolph thought he could flex his muscles in the middle distance, Danny Green suddenly flashed out like a gust of wind and "swept away" the basketball in front of Randolph.

"Steal! The pass went wrong, the Pacers' offense and defense transition!" Kevin Harlan became excited, and Hollins simply cursed directly.

Hollins is very clear that once there is an opportunity to switch offense and defense, the probability that the Grizzlies can defend is very small.Last season, the Pacers' offensive and defensive transitions were very powerful, not to mention that they also have a master of field control this season.

Sure enough, Paul tricked Conley with a fake fax.Everyone was wary of the "Queen Bee" passing the ball, but Paul attacked the frame by himself.

"The Grizzlies have to be more cautious. They can't give the Pacers any more opportunities for this transition."

However, as soon as Kevin Harlan's words fell, the Grizzlies hit the iron again.This time it was Pondexter who struck the iron, and he got a chance at the moment Green was about to steal Randolph.Gasol is very smart, he didn't make the same mistake twice.The Spaniard gave the ball to Pondexter instead of Randolph, who had just made a mistake.

But this time, Pondexett did not seize the opportunity of an open shot. Pondexett is a typical "3D" player.There is nothing to say about this guy's defense, but how valuable he is on the offensive end depends entirely on how he feels today.

And Henson can clearly see through the data analysis module that Pondexter's offensive stability is only a C-level score.This means that Pondexter's shooting will not always be so accurate.

"哐!" The basketball strikes the iron, this is a long rebound, so the height advantage of Randolph and Gasol cannot be brought into play.

Instead, George grabbed Gay and kept the ball for the Pacers.

"Back, back!" Hollins yelled immediately, waving his arms, as if eager to get on the field and push the players back himself.

The defensive discipline of the Grizzlies is still very good, the retreat is very timely, and the positioning is not messy.

"Coach Henson must be very upset that he didn't seize this opportunity." Seeing that the Grizzlies' defense was impeccable, Kevin Harlan said.

However, in fact, Henson was a little excited.It doesn't matter if you can't make a counterattack. Henson didn't think about closing the game with a counterattack today.Because the Grizzlies' style of play is destined not to allow you to get too many counterattack opportunities.

But in a positional battle, do the Grizzlies really think they are stable?Henson couldn't help looking at West, who had scored a goal just now, and he couldn't wait to see Hollins' distraught expression.That moment just now was just a small test
(End of this chapter)